so this is my town. to the right are our finest incan ruins. our town used to be mainly agrarian, but with the influx of tourism in the last ten years due to the refurbishing of ruins coupled with its prime location between cusco and machu picchu, the local economy has rapidly changed.
ollantaytambo is called the "living inca city" because a substantial porton of the homes and the streets are built on actual ruins. many people have walls in their homes that are hundreds of years old, making this the most incredible town in the whole world. basically.
five minutes from my house behind some corn fields are these ruins. no big deal.
that's pancho, my host dad and ultimate ruins tour guide. he doesn't like my name, and prefers to call me "victorina" based on the main characters of a popular telenovela here called "victorinos." the basic premise is some incan witch doctor made a prophesy about these dudes named victorino who were born at the same time. if they ever meet, shit will hit the fan. i can't exactly tell why, but it seems pretty serious. i would take this name change as a compliment except that it's mostly only because no one here can pronounce kaitlyn.
snowy mountains, farmers in the chacra, and ruins. that basically sums it up.FAQs from friends and family in my first weeks:
1. how are you!? i'm awesome! the first week took a little adjusting with the new diet, but overall, this place is meeting my expectations, which is pretty rare (as many of you may know about me).
2. how is your host family? they're awesome! i live in a lovely home with pancho and balvina, the most wonderful parents in peru. they have three kids and a ten year old aunt who also live with them. meals are huge. comaraderie is always present. i am teased constantly. it's the best. there are really only two problems. 1) people here wake up at 6 and start sewing in the room next to me, which sounds like construction work. there seems to be no respect here for late risers, and i'll pretend that i don't mind...but i'm sleepy! 2) toooo muuuuch foooooood.
3. how is work? it's awesome! i have never considered myself to be a particularly organized person, especially considering my most recent job where i felt like i was the least "with it" of all the admin assistants, but holy cow...people here do not respect the beauty and value of protocol. it's nice to feel like i'm good at something. additionally, i really enjoy connecting with volunteers, listening in on all our organization's amazing brainstorming, and being handed the responsibilities of directing some projects. i feel like i'm actually going to gain some skills beyond the basic mail merge, photocopy, and receptionist duties. this is the greatest news of my life.
4. how are your coworkers? they are awesome! people here are bright, passionate, laid back, and great. i definitely feel like i'm on the outside still, but doesn't it always take time to get to know people? it certainly helps that we've had a couple new volunteers come in the last week, making me less of a newbie. great news.
5. how is your health? well, it's not awesome. you asked, so i'll tell you, my little body doesn't love this starch-heavy diet. i'm actually craving fruit and vegetables if you can believe it. AND i've hardly eaten any candy in the last two weeks. that's probably the biggest problem. what am i supposed to do without sugarsugarsugar? it's hard to say. i'm sure i'll figure it out, but i definitely feel like i'm going through withdrawal. meanwhile, i've had the please of a toilet de-clogging demonstration from my host mother (their sewage system is VERY sensitive), which made for a great second day in town. at this point, i'm a master with that precious plunging tool. i think i also puked from over eating? but poop, vomit, and sugar aside, i'm feeling pretty good. i wish i had some weights to lift, buuut this town doesn't really have much in the way of extraneous stuff.
so there! that's my big update! now you know all about me. i would also like to add that i'm already feeling like the idea of keeping in touch is going to be daunting, so if you love me at all, please remember to take initiaitive. it's easy to shoot a bunch verbal diarrhea into the interweb, but it is something else entirely to receive personal love notes. hope you are well, and hope to hear from you soon.
1. how are you!? i'm awesome! the first week took a little adjusting with the new diet, but overall, this place is meeting my expectations, which is pretty rare (as many of you may know about me).
2. how is your host family? they're awesome! i live in a lovely home with pancho and balvina, the most wonderful parents in peru. they have three kids and a ten year old aunt who also live with them. meals are huge. comaraderie is always present. i am teased constantly. it's the best. there are really only two problems. 1) people here wake up at 6 and start sewing in the room next to me, which sounds like construction work. there seems to be no respect here for late risers, and i'll pretend that i don't mind...but i'm sleepy! 2) toooo muuuuch foooooood.
3. how is work? it's awesome! i have never considered myself to be a particularly organized person, especially considering my most recent job where i felt like i was the least "with it" of all the admin assistants, but holy cow...people here do not respect the beauty and value of protocol. it's nice to feel like i'm good at something. additionally, i really enjoy connecting with volunteers, listening in on all our organization's amazing brainstorming, and being handed the responsibilities of directing some projects. i feel like i'm actually going to gain some skills beyond the basic mail merge, photocopy, and receptionist duties. this is the greatest news of my life.
4. how are your coworkers? they are awesome! people here are bright, passionate, laid back, and great. i definitely feel like i'm on the outside still, but doesn't it always take time to get to know people? it certainly helps that we've had a couple new volunteers come in the last week, making me less of a newbie. great news.
5. how is your health? well, it's not awesome. you asked, so i'll tell you, my little body doesn't love this starch-heavy diet. i'm actually craving fruit and vegetables if you can believe it. AND i've hardly eaten any candy in the last two weeks. that's probably the biggest problem. what am i supposed to do without sugarsugarsugar? it's hard to say. i'm sure i'll figure it out, but i definitely feel like i'm going through withdrawal. meanwhile, i've had the please of a toilet de-clogging demonstration from my host mother (their sewage system is VERY sensitive), which made for a great second day in town. at this point, i'm a master with that precious plunging tool. i think i also puked from over eating? but poop, vomit, and sugar aside, i'm feeling pretty good. i wish i had some weights to lift, buuut this town doesn't really have much in the way of extraneous stuff.
so there! that's my big update! now you know all about me. i would also like to add that i'm already feeling like the idea of keeping in touch is going to be daunting, so if you love me at all, please remember to take initiaitive. it's easy to shoot a bunch verbal diarrhea into the interweb, but it is something else entirely to receive personal love notes. hope you are well, and hope to hear from you soon.
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